The people fell to weeping over him； and the headsman rose and brought him a draught of water；but the Wazir sprang up from his place and smote the gugglet with his hand and broke it： then he cried out at the executioner and bade him strike off Nur al-Din's head.So he bound the eyes of the doomed man and folk clamoured at the Wazir and loud wailings were heard and much questioning of man and man.At this moment behold，rose a dense dust-cloud filling sky and wold；and when the Sultan，who was sitting in the palace，descried this，he said to his suite，'Go and see what yon cloud bringeth：'Replied Al Mu'in，'Not till we have smitten this fellow's neck；'but the Sultan said，'Wait ye till we see what this meaneth.'Now the dust-cloud was the dust of J'afar the Barmecide，Wazir to the Caliph，and his host； and the cause of his coming was as follows.The Caliph passed thirty days without calling to mind the matter of Nur al-Din Ali，[75] and none reminded him of it，till one night，as he passed by the chamber of Anis al-Jalis，he heard her weeping and singing with a soft sweet voice these lines of the poet，'In thought I see thy form when farthest far or nearest near；And on my tongue there dwells a name which man shall ne'er unhear.'
Then her weeping redoubled； when lo！ the Caliph opened the door and，entering the chamber，found Anis al-Jalis in tears.When she saw him she fell to the ground and kissing his feet three times repeated these lines，'O fertile root and noble growth of trunk；Ripe-fruitful branch of never sullied race；I mind thee of what pact thy bounty made；Far be 't from thee thou should'st forget my case！'
Quoth the Caliph，'Who art thou？'and she replied，'I am she whom Ali bin Khakan gave thee in gift，and I wish the fulfilment of thy promise to send me to him with the robe of honour； for I have now been thirty days without tasting the food of sleep.'
Thereupon the Caliph sent for Ja'afar and said to him，'O Ja'afar，'tis thirty days since we have had news of Nur al-Din bin Khakan，and I cannot suppose that the Sultan hath slain him；but，by the life of my head and by the sepulchres of my forefathers，if aught of foul play hath befallen him，I will surely make an end of him who was the cause of it，though he be the dearest of all men to myself！ So I desire that thou set out for Bassorah within this hour and bring me tidings of my cousin，King Mohammed bin Sulayman al-Zayni，and how he had dealt with Nur al-Din Ali bin Khakan；'adding，'If thou tarry longer on the road than shall suffice for the journey，I will strike off they head. Furthermore，do thou tell the son of my uncle the whole story of Nur al-Din，and how I sent him with my written orders；
and if thou find，O my cousin，[76] that the King hath done otherwise than as I commanded，bring him and the Wazir Al-Mu'in bin Sawi to us in whatsoever guise thou shalt find them.'[77]
'Hearing and obedience，'replied Ja'afar and，making ready on the instant，he set out for Bassorah where the news of his coming had foregone him and had reached to the ears of King Mohammed. When Ja'afar arrived and saw the crushing and crowding of the lieges，he asked，'What means all this gathering？'so they told him what was doing in the matter of Nur al-Din； whereupon he hastened to go to the Sultan and saluting him，acquainted him with the cause why he came and the Caliph's resolve，in case of any foul play having befallen the youth，to put to death whoso should have brought it about.Then he took into custody the King and the Wazir and laid them in ward and，giving order for the release of Nur al-Din Ali，enthroned him as Sultan in the stead of Mohammed bin Sulayman.After this Ja'afar abode three days in Bassorah，the usual guest-time，and on the morning of the fourth day，Nur al-Din Ali turned to him and said，'I long for the sight of the Commander of the Faithful.'Then said Ja'afar to Mohammed bin Sulayman，'Make ready to travel，for we will say the dawn-prayer and mount Baghdad-wards；'and he replied，'To hear is to obey.'
Then they prayed and they took horse and set out，all of them，carrying with them the Wazir，Al-Mu'in bin Sawi，who began to repent him of what he had done.Nur al-Din rode by Ja'afar's side and they stinted not faring on till they arrived at Baghdad，the House of Peace，and going in to the Caliph told him how they had found Nur al-Din nigh upon death.Thereupon the Caliph said to the youth，'Take this sword and smite with it the neck of thine enemy.'So he took the sword from his hand and stepped up to Al-Mu'in who looked at him and said，'I did according to my mother's milk，do thou according to thine.'[78] Upon this Nur al-Din cast the sword from his hand and said to the Caliph，'O Commander of the Faithful，he hath beguiled me with his words；'and he repeated this couplet，'By craft and sleight I snared him when he came；A few fair words aye trap the noble-game！'
'Leave him then，'cried the Caliph and，turning to Masrur said，'Rise thou and smite his neck.'So Masrur drew his sword and struck off his head. Then quoth the Caliph to Nur al-Din Ali，'Ask a boon of me.''O my lord，'answered he，'I have no need of the Kingship of Bassorah； my sole desire is to be honoured by serving thee and by seeing the countenance.''With love and gladness，'said the Caliph.Then he sent for the damsel，Anis al-Jalis，and bestowed plentiful favours upon them both and gave them one of his palaces in Baghdad，and assigned stipends and allowances，and made Nur al-Din Ali bin Fazl bin Khakan，one of his cup-companions； and he abode with the Commander of the Faithful enjoying the pleasantest of lives till death overtook him.'Yet （continued Shahrazad） is not his story in any wise more wondrous than the history of the merchant and his children.'
The King asked 'And what was that？'and Shahrazad began to relate the Tale of Ghanim bin Ayyub[79]，the Distraught，the Thrall o'Love.
